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Toure unhappy with ref; Sterling ‘should have dived’

Yaya Toure claims he would struggle to watch highlights of Manchester City’s controversial draw against Tottenham without breaking his TV.

And the City midfielder also thinks referee Andre Marriner will look back with regret after mistakenly not awarding the hosts what seemed a blatant penalty at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

Marriner did not spot a clear push in the back by Kyle Walker on Raheem Sterling, denying City what would have been a gilt-edged chance to go 3-1 up from the spot. There are plenty of words on the referee (and much more) in 16 Conclusions.

City’s frustration was compounded moments later as Son Heung-min struck a 77th-minute equaliser, snatching a 2-2 draw and capping an unlikely fightback from 2-0 down after the visitors were outplayed for most of the game.

Toure said: “It is unfair sometimes. I will go home and watch the highlights and break the glass and be angry.

“If the ref looks at the highlights as well he is going to feel something is unfair. We all do wrongs in life but this is difficult to take.

“It is two points going away. We played against a good team. Tottenham are fantastic, they play well, they are strong, they fight for every ball, but we deserved three points.”

Toure felt Sterling was probably too honest for his own good in staying on his feet and getting away what proved a tame shot after Walker unbalanced him.

He said: “If you have a bit of experience like me, you’d maybe ‘dive’ and that’s maybe what you have to do.

“He’s too honest, he wants to be proper in these sort of games. If the lad’s like that, you can’t tell him he’s wrong, if that’s what he tries to do but, when you see it, he couldn’t miss the goal – but Walker pushes him in the back.”

Toure believes officials would benefit from increased use of technology.

“To be honest, something has to be done,” he said. “For me if video can be involved in football it is going to be brilliant.”